When prevention became social: public health atomism and the assemblage of a National Immunisation Programme in the Netherlands, 1872–1959
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines the historical transformation of childhood vaccination in the Netherlands between 1872 and 1959. It analyses how vaccination was reframed from an individual parental responsibility to a collective practice through the establishment of the 'Rijksvaccinatieprogramma' (National Immunisation Programme). I analyse this historical trajectory as a case of 'public health atomism', a strategy that achieves collective health by prioritizing individual health outcomes and local action. Rather than relying on top-down state mandates, the 'Rijksvaccinatieprogramma' was a consequence of co-operation between general practitioners, municipal health officials, civil society organisations, and volunteers. Drawing from published medical sources, parliamentary records, and material from local and national archives, this article provides a detailed historical account of how local governance and autonomy shaped vaccination practices, highlighting the role of the 'entgemeenschap' (vaccination community) as a key organisational model for situated collaboration. As such, it revisits childhood vaccination as an archetypical example of biopolitical state intervention, demonstrating how localised, flexible co-operation was instrumental in integrating vaccination into Dutch society.
Source: Medical History
Author: Martijn van der Meer
Institutions: Erasmus MC, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,550
OpenAlex ID: W7130516140